The unpredictability of most personalities are a great help to keep me listening. When ya don't know what to expect, the tendency to hang around for the next gem lends itself to longer times tuned in. So when the sports talk dude goes off the rails on a non sports topic, ya scrap it for more imaging friendly promo content, right? Maybe that's what works for you. But my best successes were with WHOLE bits like this-totally out of left field (if they have 'em across the pond)

This one's dated, but it illustrates a case of when your sports dude goes off the rails and goes on a pop culture rant--and it's good--then do a promo on it. You might start attracting those fringe sports fans in the audience who happen to be uber interested in pop culture

Chances are a lot of your sports station listening audience are rock-n-rollers. So when your sports dude does a bit on guitar riffs and not sports-why not promote it? It may be more entertaining and listener worthy than the day to day hot takes on sports

So your UBER talented sports talk dude talks about something OTHER than sports. AND it's entertaining. So why not use it in a promo? Can you tell me some guys in the audience-sports fans or not (the "nots" you wanna target, too)-WON'T relate to another guy talking about divorce?

What's one way to make a clutter cutting radio ad? Use the element of surprise. The formula's simple. Set up a scenerio then take an unexpected turn at the end. Keeps listeners guessing while keeping them engaged.. And that keeps 'em tuned to your ad longer. Particularly with someone kooky enough to playfully focus on a business name...

This is a piece of work done by Al Peterson, Production Director at WLAD/98Q in Danbury, CT nearly 30 years ago. This audio was featured on the January 1992 RAP Cassette and came with the following story you must read first before listening: -----

"Here is the cut that has driven strong men into the night in tears: FLOWER GIRL!!! If you didn't read about it the first time in Radio World [March 27, 1991], here's the outline:

Nicky Stevenson (old and drunk) came 'round the station some months back with a cassette of his "songs" for us to play on the air. His music consisted of him blathering into a Yorx cassette machine -- no music, no drum tracks, nada. Just a few memorable titles like, "Oh Lisa," "I'm a Good Shoe," and "Snowball Baby" shouted onto tape with 86-proof inspiration.

All it took was one guy here saying, "Gee, that would be pretty funny if it were set to music." Well, that was a challenge too good to pass up, so I took Nicky's cassette home over vacation, extracted a few "useable" lines to figure out the key and tempo, and spent two days putting music together. Basically, it was the equivalent of a jigsaw puzzle completely painted white -- thoroughly impossible but fun trying.

Especially memorable was the modulation from E/flat to D (made possible by a hellish combination of chords resembling a freight train wreck).

The reel has a few seconds of Nicky on his own from the cassette he gave me. After that, "Flower Girl" in all its stereophonic splendor. If his voice sounds different in the finished work, it was drowned in Alesis reverb and goosed with a touch of Aphex -- anything to kill the hiss.

If you've ever heard of someone trying to save a piece of audio "in the mix," you'll love "Flower Girl." It's so horrible, it's hysterical.

PS -- The high pitch heard on the quiet passages is clock noise from a cheap Yamaha synth -- couldn't get it out."

Here's a spot that's been getting a lot of plays from the archives over the past couple of weeks. This spot came in as a Finalist in the 1992 Radio And Production Awards. Submitted by Sean Lowman at KZJH in Jackson, WY, this spot is very cleverly done -- a great way to push a product without boring the listener. Can be applied to countless products, including your station.

This spoof spot from the archives has been getting some extra plays this month. Written, voiced and produced by Jon Lockwood back in 1995 while at WCRZ/WWBN/WFNT in Flint, MI, as featured on the January 1995 RAP Cassette. Enjoy!

Let's see. I've counted 10 submissions from one of my "make client reads easier to listen to" campaigns. I've got more and by now you could very well be tired of 'em. But the point, as was hammered home by an established marketing pro I worked with a while back, is pretty plain. "Good campaigns have LONG legs". That comes with working at keeping the scenarios fresh combined with a client who's wiling to roll with it because they've been presented with the possibilities of this kind of approach. (of course a lot of 'em are not. And that's OK. But you'd be surprised at the number who ARE willing to roll the dice) If they seem to break the "radio correctness" of a locally produced ad, consider this. I heard a Geico radio commercial that personalized "dust bunnies". Silly? Absolutely! But many radio station dudes are more than creative enough to come with something as "out of the box" as that. Big agencies DON'T have exclusive dibs on creativity. The different sales points/events from ad to ad already lend some variety. Keeping the campaign a tad unpredictable, yet consistent, remains in the hands of the copywriter and producer to deliver the goods to show they're working for a client who might be already hesitant to put down hard earned money for radio ad campaigns. (A pain in the butt sometimes, considering the other deadlines we're up against) And the account rep who continues to call on those clients usually bares the brunt of this reluctance. Yet, that client resistance may begin to thaw if they hear customers tell 'em they dig your station's ads when shopping at their place of business. This attached commercial was inspired by a simple utilization of theater of the mind. Nothing earth shatteringly humorous. But still working to transform that "client has to be distant" perception into one that makes them human--and relatable. (not to mention fed up with his dopey announcer)

There are a few benefits about a client voice-based radio campaign where you coach the client's voice parts to a point they can EXACTLY repeat the lines you feed them. Of course, if you've been consistent with the irreverent tenor of the campaign, the client will start trusting you more as they hear how the big picture unfolds and begin to loosen up. And THIS makes it even EASIER to direct them moving forward. So then you can occasionally put them in far fetched situations previously reserved for the more talented voice actors on your staff. Putting the client in these kinds of scenarios from time to time not only keeps the legs of your campaign growing even longer, but it presents the client in even more of a fun light that listeners (and potential customers) might eventually find easier to gravitate towards...

Another option with this whole "making the client sound relatable" campaign I've been submitting has been to make said client the voice of reason in the midst of dealing with his dopey announcer. Nothing like bursting one's bubble to keep things from going totally off the rails...